June 23, 2013 | By Randall Roberts, Los Angeles Times Pop Music Critic

You could credit the so-called super moon rising, the fireworks, the perfect weather or some combination thereof, but an unexplainable event occurred on Saturday during the annual "Opening Night at the Bowl" at the Hollywood Bowl. Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith performed their silliest, least consequential hit, “Love in an Elevator,” with a full orchestra backing - and it sounded pretty good. Tyler, one of the great vocalists of the arena rock era (and, more recently, a judge on "American Idol")

A year after postponing his tour, John Legend is hitting the road this fall. The nine-time Grammy winner announced the trek, billed as the “Made to Love” tour, on Monday. Legend will hit more than 20 cities across the U.S. starting Oct. 20 in Mashantucket, Conn. The tour wraps in L.A. on Dec. 1 with a gig at Nokia Theatre. R&B songstress (and popular reality star) Tamar Braxton will open. The soul crooner recently released “Made to Love,” the second single from his long gestating fourth solo album, “Love in the Future.” Legend was originally set to tour last fall, but he shuttered the tour in order to complete the album, which he planned on unveiling while on the road.

DARING rapper Kanye West, veteran diva Mariah Carey and soulful newcomer John Legend led the way Thursday with eight nominations each for the 48th annual Grammy Awards, an acknowledgment of the powerful confluence of hip-hop and R&B as the sound of pop music in 2005.

Record of the year "Boulevard of Broken Dreams," Green Day Album of the year "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb," U2 Song of the year "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own," U2 Best new artist: John Legend

The second "American Idol" charity event is set for April 9, with a lineup that includes Bono, Brad Pitt, Miley Cyrus, Fergie, Chris Daughtry and Carrie Underwood. Last year's "Idol Gives Back" show raised $76 million to benefit underprivileged children. It also earned the producers a special Emmy Award. The Fox network announced the celebrity roster Monday. Football stars Peyton and Eli Manning are also scheduled, along with John Legend, Mariah Carey, Annie Lennox, Reese Witherspoon and Snoop Dogg.

Following the platinum selling success of last year's "Soldier of Love" — Sade's first new album in a decade — the sultry-voiced British singer will perform recent hits, such as the Grammy-nominated "Babyfather," plus classics from her just-released greatest hits compilation, "The Ultimate Collection. " Neo-soul heavy hitter John Legend will open all three nights. Staples Center, 1111 S. Figueroa St., Downtown. 8 p.m. Fri.-Sun. $49.50-$179.50. (213) 742-7340. http://www.staplescenter.com.

One mark of a competent chief executive - especially one responsible for leading a nation - is an ability to learn from past mistakes. On that count, President Obama's omission of classical music from his second inauguration ceremony on Monday (barring last-minute additions to the announced musical lineup of Beyoncé , Kelly Clarkson and James Taylor singing, respectively, “The Star Spangled Banner,” “My Country 'Tis of Thee” and “America...

John Legend has landed himself a truly captive audience. Legend, the R&B star whose career took off with the 2004 album "Get Lifted," plans to perform an acoustic concert at 30,000 feet to promote the 50th anniversary of the Grammy Awards. The plan is for Legend, who won the Grammy for the best new artist of 2005, to serenade 50 contest winners and their friends aboard a Feb. 7 flight from New York to Los Angeles, where the Grammys are scheduled to take place Feb. 10. The flight will be aboard a Boeing 757 in the Delta Airlines fleet that has been painted with the award show's gramophone insignia.

AC/DC's "Black Ice" topped the 1-million-sales mark during the album's second week of release, holding on to the No. 1 spot on the national sales chart with 271,000 copies. It sold 784,000 the previous week. It finished well ahead of the week's No. 2 album, Pink's new "Funhouse," which sold 180,000 copies in its first week. John Legend's third collection, "Evolver," debuted at No. 4 with sales of 133,000. Toby Keith's "That Don't Make Me a Bad Guy" started off at No. 5 with 91,000 copies, just ahead of Rascal Flatts' "Greatest Hits Volume 1" compilation, arriving at No. 6 with sales of 89,000 copies, according to Billboard.

Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign, which has inspired a multitude of songs by stars and amateurs alike, is now getting an official soundtrack. "Yes We Can: Voices of a Grassroots Movement," which takes its title from an Obama campaign slogan, features Kanye West, John Legend, Sheryl Crow, Stevie Wonder and others. It will be available for sale exclusively through Obama's campaign starting Friday. The campaign of Obama's rival, Sen. John McCain, said it had no plans to release a CD of its own and greeted news of Obama's with a dig. "It's ironic that on a day when the economy is in turmoil, Barack Obama fails to release an economic plan but instead chooses a celebrity rock album," said spokesman Tucker Bounds.